Slow Cooker Garlic Dill Mashed Potatoes

So many people ask why I would make potatoes in the slow cooker when they actually take shorter in the oven. My Garlic Dill Mashed potatoes will show you why!

Slow Cooker Garlic Dill Mashed Potatoes are creamy, loaded with flavor, and unbelievably easy when made in the crock pot!

The slow cooker/crock pot is a magical place. You put raw food in and in just a few hours, it comes out moist and ready to eat.

One of the best ingredients for the slow cooker is potatoes because people tend to dry them out by overcooking. Baking potatoes can lead to all the moisture evaporating away, while in a slow cooker, it is sealed in essentially steaming the potatoes insteading of baking them.

Never worry about a dried out spud again, seriously! The first crock pot potato recipe on your list should be my Garlic Dill Mashed Potatoes. Since your potatoes are heading for delicious creamy mashed potatoes and not a baked potato, the fact that they won’t have a crispy skin is perfect.

Potatoes work wonders in the crock pot, but mashed potatoes are pure magic! They caramelize a little against the sides, adding a sweet note and gentle brown color that is hard to achieve by steaming or boiling.

I suppose you could bake, but that too would result in cakey texture. I prefer to use red potatoes for skin-on mashed potatoes. They are flavorful and silky, so they mix in perfectly with other add-ins.

Other good potato varieties for mashed potato include any higher starch potato like, Russet or Yukon Gold. These are fluffy and mash well without having to add lots of butter and sour cream… unless you are into that sort of thing (like me!).

Although everyone prefers mashed potatoes, some cooks get a little worried about adding too much milk and other goodness to the mix because your taters will be runny. This is an honest concern, most mashed potato recipes call for a quantity of potatoes and let’s face it, they come in many shapes and sizes, so no recipe is “one size fits all”.

My advice is to start slow and add more, however if you do find yourself in a pickle and need to thicken those bad boys up, use a few tablespoons of dehydrated mashed potatoes. I know, I know!

It is my dirty little secret. I keep a box in the darkest depths of my pantry for situations just like this. They are instant and work like a charm. No one will know, I promise. Just hide the box. You can also use them to thicken up deviled egg filling, wink, wink.